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Dustin arrived on the bridge out of breath, grabbing the spare dress jacket he’d left hanging on the back of his chair just in case he needed to handle anything diplomatic (although he’d imagined EarthGov or Star Command calling out of the blue, not suddenly arriving royalty). As he pulled it on he glared at his comms officer. “Emely, why has your aunt just dropped into Sol space unannounced?” The Feliax woman gave a shrug. “I asked if she’d mind presiding over your wedding. Meli asked me to find someone official enough that it’d appease both your government and hers; when she talked to Axworth last about it he said that EarthGov were throwing a fit about you not using one of their sanctioned minister-bureaucrats for the ceremony, and her uncle’s had the Velca Research Council calling him non-stop apparently.”

Running a hand down his face, Dustin adjusted his jacket and sank into the captain’s seat. “Fine, fine. Well, conference call then with her and whoever’s currently on duty at interplanetary diplomacy over at EarthGov today. Actually, hold that - let me speak to EarthGov separately first.” The screen flickered for a minute, before a elderly woman appeared. “Ambassador? Pleasure to speak with you; Daniella Michells here, secretary general for interplanetary affairs, to what do I owe this call?” Dustin gave the woman what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am. Have you seen the incoming weave scans? We have a rather important visitor, so I felt it appropriate to introduce you.”

There was a moment or two of confusion as Ms Michells scanned her eyes to the side - looking at a separate vidscreen, Dustin guessed - before her face paled slightly. “Yeess… Right, ambassador, if you would.” The professionalism of the official remained, but there was more than a hint of nerves there. Dustin gestured towards the screen and glanced at Emely. “Right, call up your aunt… wait a moment actually. Communications officer, how likely is it she’ll be in formal attire?” Emely blinked, then grinned. “Almost guaranteed, captain.” He sighed. “Why does her attire matter, ambassador?” The question came from the secretary general, who’s cheeks tinted when he told her that there was a good chance the empress would be naked when they connected the call.

Sure enough, when the vidscreen flickered and revealed the form of Liselia val Felias, the Feliax ruler - or at least what was visible of her, from the top of her breasts upwards was unclad save for a twisted gold band resting across her forehead. “Ambassador, patriarch to my dear niece. We are so pleased to see you in good health.” The greeting was formal, and Dustin inclined his head. “Your majesty, greetings from the pride Val Smith. I apologize for our matriarch’s absence in welcoming you to my homeworld, however I was not informed of your arrival in advance.”

Liselia’s face broke into a fox-like smile so akin to the one Emely used when she was being sly that Dustin got the urge to flick the woman on the nose. He didn’t firstly due to the fact they were on a video call so it was impossible, and secondly that it would cause an interplanetary incident - but he wasn’t surprised when she spoke again. “I am aware, my dear Dustin. Please do accept my apologies on that matter - I wanted our arrival to be a bit of a surprise to her and you both. Now, I take it the other person on this call is not a party to your wedding plans, so would you mind introducing her? I do have other matters in Sol space to attend to asides from presiding over your nuptials.”

After introductions were made, the Empress explained that she was not alone on her vessel; alongside those of her pride she had brought a significant number of graduates ready to join the human fleet as per their agreement; the secretary general disconnected from the call shortly afterwards to go and arrange housing for the sudden influx of new people. From there, the conversation turned back to family matters, with Liselia commenting “I’ve also brought a wedding present from Emely’s mother; she was beside herself when I told her she needed to remain on the homeworld, but I needed someone I could trust to help keep an eye on things. We really could only afford one of the two of us to come to this ceremony - I am sorry about that, my dear niece.” Emely rose, moving across to climb into Dustin’s lap now that they were just talking with family. “It’s alright; I expected as much when I made the request. Besides, this isn’t about me, it’s about my pride.”

Dustin hugged the redhead tightly, before flickering his eyes back to the screen. “Before we go further with welcoming you to the system - because if nothing else, you must come over for a meal as you are family after all - are there any other surprise guests I should be aware of? I’m not sure I could take the shock if the Vex’ess overqueen turned up unannounced too! Emely snuggled into him and sighed. “No other surprises. Just family, and they’ve already arrived on those other ships that dropped into the system.”

Later that evening, Naera watched critically as Dustin stirred the stew. “I dunno about serving this to royalty, captain. It seems a little… simple.” Dustin sighed and gestured with a sauce-covered spoon towards the oven. “It is, but that’s the point; it’s a family recipe, and I checked with Emely if it’d be alright to serve it again because I haven’t had it since she joined us. It was part of what I gave her family when she left them to join ours - the recipe for this I mean - and we’ve got fond memories. Although last time the bread wasn’t freshly made by a master chef - though don’t you need to get it out of the oven soon?”

The plant woman shook her head. “Not for another minute and a half. Trust me on this one, I’ve got a great internal clock for these things. So we’re serving memories rather than fancy food. Gotcha. Well, I’ll get the bread out and then go start making plans for tomorrow’s lunch I guess…” Dustin raised an eyebrow. “You’re family too, Naera. We’re all eating together.” The green-skinned woman’s face paled a little at that and she backed towards the oven “I… I can’t possibly eat with an empress! I…”

At that precise moment, the door slid open and said empress stepped into the kitchen, flanked by Emely and Eriff. The three Feliax paused in the doorway, taking in the scents of the cooking food. “It smells like we’re having your bridal stew, my dear niece. Did you know, your father refused a direct order from me to make it the last time I visited your pride’s holdings, saying he would only make it on special occasions like birthdays and festivals.” Liselia commented to Emely, who grinned in reply. “Well, it did cost him me, Auntie, so I can understand him being stingy with it. Oh, have I introduced you to Naera yet?”

The Caenii woman was glancing rapidly between the three approaching Feliax, before darting backwards towards the oven. “Sorry, can’t let the bread burn!” she yelped over her shoulder; Dustin was pretty sure she was just trying to avoid having to talk to a woman who was not only royalty but held a galactic council seat. Thinking about it, he probably should have been more pressured by the situation himself - but then, he’d seen the empress both naked and just relaxing with her family; hell, he was pretty sure she considered him family, so maybe him being calm should be expected.

As the shortstack set trays of hot bread onto the side to cool, Emely cornered her. “This is Naera, the one I told you about in my messages.” The plant girl almost dropped a loaf, glancing at the redhead in shock. “You messaged the empress… about me…?” To Dustin’s total lack of surprise Emely nodded. “Of course I did, Nae-nae. I mean, you’re part of our pride, why wouldn’t I tell my family about you.” The empress smiled, leaning down slightly to rest one hand on the Caenii’s shoulder. “You really shouldn’t worry so much, dear. If you are with my favourite niece, you are family - and I do hope you will take that into consideration and eat with us later. This stew is simply delightful, and I’d hate for you to miss out on it.”

Seeing the confusion on the upturned green face, Liselia tapped her ears and nose with her free hand. “Sharp hearing, to hear your concerns before we arrived. And a sharp nose; I can smell Emely on you, among others.” Then, straightening back up as the plant woman’s cheeks tinted a dark green, she turned and fixed Dustin with a grin, seemingly aware but ignoring the stammering mess she’d just made of his chef. “As regards you, Val Smith patriarch…” she hesitated, then glanced around. “Are there any cameras in here?” She half whispered. Dustin shook his head. “If there are, they’re blank. I had a word with Sola and she’s treating any room we’re both in like my ambassadorial suite - a sensor blackout aside from biomonitoring to make sure we’re all healthy.”

The empress visibly sagged as she let go of the tension in her shoulders, regal bearing suddenly dropping off her like a cloak. “Thank Felio for that. Right, well in that case…” she closed the distance and hugged him, causing him to lock up in surprise. Eriff chuckled nearby, before inclining his head. “That’s from Emely’s mother” he said, before rummaging in a pocket and handing Dustin a small case. “And this is from her father. They’re not the wedding presents - those will come later - but he said he wanted us to make sure you knew how much they both appreciate how happy you’ve made Emely.” Dustin flipped the case open to reveal a pair of elegant cuff-links - worked silver and gold, with a pale red stone set into the centre. “Thank you. I’ll write to them to thank them as well” he said reverently, tucking the box into his pocket for safe-keeping. He’d been meaning to buy a pair ever since getting his suit ordered, but just hadn’t gotten around to it - and these would be perfect.